Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, said Tranter was often a voice for residents in poorer communities.

“She saw parks as a social justice issue—that every community deserved a park, every park deserved fair and decent representation,” Burnett said. “She deals with people on all levels, from the poorest people to the wealthy folks downtown.”

Tranter began working at Friends of the Parks in 1980, around the time that the federal government sued the Chicago Park District for spending an unfair amount of tax dollars in powerful, white neighborhoods instead of minority communities, she said.

“Things began to change, and it’s been a process through the years,” Tranter said.

Tranter is proud of many projects she helped lead through the years, including securing a $3 million grant to restore the Garfield Park Conservatory, and the organization’s successful lawsuit against a plan to expand Lake Shore Drive ramps that would have impinged on park land, she said.

One big regret was the failure of the organization’s legal fight to stop the renovation of Soldier Field on the lakefront, she said.

Tranter said she is excited about ongoing projects at Friends of the Parks, including a partnership with the park district to build 300 new playgrounds over five years beginning in 2013 and the “Last Four Miles” plan to extend the lakefront path on the north and south sides.

Friends of the Parks chair Lauren Moltz, said that a new president has been approved by the board, but she would not name Tranter’s successor.

Moltz said Tranter has played a huge role in improving life in Chicago.

“She’s just a real hands-on leader. When we have a park or a playground to build, she’s there doing the work,” Moltz said. “She’s shoveling sod, building playgrounds, physically doing the work as a strong advocate.”